A recent study by the Media Research Center (MRC) has revealed that X, formerly Twitter, under Elon Musk’s ownership, continues to suppress conservative voices while amplifying leftist accounts. This discovery calls into question the effectiveness of Musk’s efforts to create a free speech platform.

MRC researchers used X’s AI search assistant, Grok, to evaluate how visibility scores are assigned to congressional members. These scores influence which accounts are promoted or suppressed. The study identified four contributing factors to visibility scores: Mass Appeal (38%), Reputation (30%), Toxicity (21%), and Follow (11%).

Subjective factors such as “Reputation” and “Toxicity” were found to disproportionately affect conservative accounts. Senate Democrats had an average visibility score of 82.4, while Senate Republicans scored 66.8. House Democrats averaged 67, compared to 58.6 for House Republicans. Notably, the top 42 visibility scores in the Senate were all awarded to Democrats.

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) was ranked as the “least toxic, most reputable, and highest-ranked House member,” and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) had the highest visibility score overall.

The MRC suggested that internal resistance within X might be hindering Musk’s attempts to eliminate bias. Despite Musk’s acquisition of Twitter in 2022, which exposed significant government and social media collusion to censor conservative voices, the platform’s algorithm still shows a clear bias.

This study highlights the persistent challenge of ensuring unbiased content moderation on social media. While Musk has made progress toward promoting free speech, significant obstacles remain in achieving a truly neutral platform.